German mull over opening solar school in Pakistan

BERLIN : Chief Executive of the German Solar Energy Society, Dr. Uwe Hartmann called on the Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Muhammad Barjees Tahir here on Saturday. He briefed the Minister about various activities of the society being undertaken by it to promote new sustainable energy conversion techniques and energy-saving technologies as well as environmental and climate protections. He said that the major aspect of Society’s work was education and spreading information about renewable energies. Federal Minister said that Pakistan had been facing acute shortage of electricity and it had hampered the economic development badly. The Federal Government is striving hard to overcome this energy crisis on one hand as well trying to maintain a balanced energy mix to keep the average price of electricity per unit as low as possible on the other hand, he added. The Minister informed him of various alternative energy projects including wind and solar, which were being installed in the country.It was agreed in the meeting that the German Solar Energy Society will consider the possibility of setting up a Solar School in Pakistan to impart training in developing, planning, dimensioning, installing, and commissioning solar systems as well disseminate technical know how about the alternative sources of energy. As a first step forward, the experts of the Society will train the trainers in the fields of photovoltaic, solar thermal applications and energy efficiency.